excerpt
They arrive and George Pappas welcomes them to his office. George is a
fourth-generation Greek American, very proud of his roots. He doesn’t hesitate
to mention to everyone he meets that the western world owes much to Greek
language, philosophy and culture.
“Welcome, welcome, are you two ready for the best place in the whole Los
Angeles area?”
“Well, you don’t have to overstate things, George,” says Hakim, “but we are
ready to take a look, definitely.”
“This is an estate sale. It just showed up on the market yesterday; it’s priced
below market value because the heirs want to have a quick sale and split the
money. The listing agent, Edith, believes they’ll sell today, or at the latest,
tomorrow. We’re the second group she will take through today.” He sounds
almost overwhelmed.
Jennifer looks at the spec sheet with the available information and sees the
asking price, $1,795,000. She turns to Hakim and shows him the price. Hakim
smiles at her and turns to George.
“George, I mentioned to you I want a place about 1500 square feet, and
priced at around a million or slightly over; this is way more.”
“Yes, I agree. However, you get a lot of property for the money. This is going
to be worth no less than two and a half million within five years.”
Hakim says nothing more as they get into George’s car to go see the apartment.
It takes them thirty minutes to arrive. The building is indeed an impressive
high-rise, thirty-two floors above ground, and fairly new, judging from the exterior.
They meet Edith in the lobby and George makes the introductions.
If George mentioned spectacular western views, he underestimated the truly
phenomenal sight of the ocean to the west and the views of the city to the south.
The suite is the penthouse on the thirty-second floor. The sun is in the west this
time of the day and so the blinds are partly pulled; the place is roomy, with two
large bedrooms, a roomy den for Hakim’s work, and a well-designed living room
and family room. The kitchen has luxurious features—marble countertops,
maple wood cabinets, and top-of-the-line appliances.
George takes Hakim aside as Edith takes Jennifer through the place again and
again. She knows a woman makes these decisions most of the times in situations
like this, and Edith wants a quick sale.
“Now, do you agree with me or not?” George asks Hakim.
“Yes, George, I agree, this is a nice place. What about the price, have you
talked to Edith about flexibility?”
Libros Libertad 